Lemon Cardamom Layer Cake with Strawberries & Mascarpone

Cooking is the Best Way to Show How Much You Love Someone

I only just realized that my grandmother had never really loved cooking when she moved into the seniors home and breathed a sigh of relief. I’m still a bit shocked, but not entirely. Now that I think back, I remember her being very rushed, always trying to get the cooking done and ‘out of the way’. It was always basic, but delicious and hearty fare; the best kind for feeding a large growing, farm family. With all the bread baking, pickling, preserving, and gardening, I don’t think she had much time for kitchen experimenting or recipe development. Birthdays were celebrated with a simple sheet cake or home baked pie, and nothing more because that’s what was expected. Life was much simpler back in the days when my dad grew up, the oldest of 6 kids, on a farm in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan.

That Farm Life

That hard work ethic was passed on to my dad who, by the age of ten, was driving the small farm tractor and helping out with farm chores. To those that aren’t farmers, the hard work and dedication of farming life often goes by unnoticed. There were times during harvest when I barely saw my dad for weeks at a time while he combined into the wee morning hours until the dew fall-finally signalled bedtime.

His Very Own Four Layer Birthday Cake

Now that he is retired (to be honest, farmers never retire…) he and my mom have been able to visit us in Alberta more frequently. I was ecstatic that they could be with us to celebrate their granddaughter’s graduation, since it was also my dad’s birthday, pleased to be able to finally be able to bake my dad a well deserved cake. I really wanted to go all out because man, does this guy have a sweet tooth! When I took it out of the fridge, he was so tickled that I had baked him a cake. With a big smile, he marvelled, “It has FOUR layers!” and then I realized he had probably never had such a cake, ever. My mom, while an amazing bread baker, just could never manage to bake sweets including, cookies, pies, and cakes.

I barely got in a photo with him holding the Lemon Cardamom Layer Cake with Strawberries & Mascarpone before he had the knife out. It’s a good thing I took some photos before they arrived…

Some thoughts on baking the cake…2 cups of sugar is A LOT. I knew the cake would be quite sweet, so I didn’t want the toppings to add even more sweetness. The mascarpone cheese worked well in this respect and had enough integrity to keep it’s shape. The Lemon Cardamom Layer Cake with Strawberries and Mascarpone is even better the next day…as cakes usually are.

Strawberries and mascarpone — what a perfect cake for the summer! And what a sweet story, too. Your dad looks so happy! It’s the same reason I always try to bake a cake/pie for someone’s birthday. Even though it’s a lot of work, there’s something lovely about being able to see how much joy it brings. Nothing like a birthday cake to put a smile on your face!

It’s true…I’ve always went a bit overboard because I grew up with really lame cakes (sorry mom, it’s true) lol so when my daughter made my all time favourite Chocolate Carrot Cake for my 40th I was over the moon! She got the recipe from the restaurant and I’ve been trying to get that recipe for YEARS!

That’s wonderful and you told your story beautifully! Your Dad looks so pleased. My mother can do just about anything in the kitchen, including cakes, but when we were growing up, bakery cakes were our tradition for birthdays. I still do splash out for a bakery cake for their birthdays some years, but I also like baking them something special, too. My Dad would have been extra pleased with a cake like that!

Thank you Teresa. I think it’s just because my mom doesn’t like sweets. She made the rest of us suffer lol. We lived pretty far out of town so bakery cakes were rare…unless we went into town to celebrate with grandma!